Ask Your Pet Health Questions Below and Get Expert Pet Health Advice from Wendy Nan Rees and other Experts.
Wendy is a celebrated author of 6 books, radio host and is known as "The Pet Lifestyle Advisor".
Soon we be able to offer Wendy's archives show below! at wendynanrees.com for more great pet ideas and advice

Sep 29, 2010

Russell, has studied holistic health for over 30 years and lived a holistic lifestyle for over 58 years. He specializes in integrating his scientific background with his knowledge of health, to holistically help both people and pets. As a wholistic scientist, his greatest talent is being able to cut through all the marketing hype, using his scientific background, to tell people what is truly holistic. Today, our topic is “Lumps, Bumps, Tumors and Teeth.”

Why did you pick this topic for today’s show?I wanted to pick a topic of broad appeal to your audience. The words “lipoma” and “fatty tumor” are the number one search words people use to find our website, OptimumChoices.com. Our Lipoma web page is our number one landing page on our entire website.

That is good enough for me. Can you tell us what you mean by lumps, bumps and tumors?Lumps are a non-medical term we lay people use to describe bumps under our or our pet’s skin. Tumors are the medical term your doctor or vet uses to describe those lumps. Fortunately, not all tumors are malignant cancerous ones and some can simply be benign. Benign skin tumors include lipomas (fatty tumors), cysts, histiocytomas, sebaceous adenomas and many other types.

Tell our listeners how you can holistically help them with their pet’s lipoma or fatty tumors.First, we always suggest seeing a vet first to get a proper diagnosis. One needs to totally rule out a malignant cancer tumor. The vet will visually inspect the tumor and possibly do a needle aspirate to draw some tumor cells out to examine under a microscope. Their analysis can determine what type of tumor and treatment is needed. Common warning signs that one should seek immediate medical attention for unexplained lumps are:

The lump is growing rapidly.

The lump is immovable under the skin. In other words, it seems like it is attached to something deeper?

The lumps are on the extremities (feet, toes, ears, and nose).

What does a pet owner do if the vet decides the tumor is non-cancerous? That is where my 58 years of holistic experience comes in. You see, Western medical science tells us if the lipomas or fatty tumors are not hindering or bothering anything, then do not disturb them. That is like ignoring the smoke alarm. From our holistic perspective the lipomas or fatty tumors are red flags that the body is not in balance and eliminating waste properly. Surgically removing the lipoma, liposuction, salves and steroid injections are all options for removing the fatty tumor but do nothing to address the original cause of the problem. In my holistic opinion, it is only a matter of time before these inefficiencies and imbalances cause something more serious to happen.

So, these fatty tumors are holistic warning signs?Yes, that is exactly right. The body was once healthy and in balance and had no need to store wastes and toxins beneath the skin. But something happened, such as the consequences from years of a lack of nutrition in the diet, trauma to the body, serious infection or exposure to an endocrine disrupting compound to cause the body to be out of balance and subsequently one or more of the glands and organs began to operate inefficiently. When the body cannot eliminate wastes properly, it must find a place to store it. That lump of encapsulated fat or toxins under the skin is like the bump of dirt we sweep under the rug when we do not have a dust pan.

Now that I see these fatty tumors as warning signs, how in the world do they relate to teeth?When the body has a hidden tooth infection, the kidneys and liver are already working overtime to deal with the toxins from that infection. If the glands (endocrine system) are also imbalanced or weak, then the rest of the body’s organs (such as the digestive and elimination systems) may not be fully functional either. Then, the body needs a place to store the excess waste and toxins that it cannot properly eliminate from the tooth infection.

How does one know if their pet has a tooth infection that might be producing toxins?That is the hard part. If we have a toothache, generally, we would go to the dentist to have it checked out. But a pet cannot complain and tell us they have a toothache. Unless our pet gets regular dental checkups or we brush our pet’s teeth regularly, we would not know whether they had a tooth infection. Here are some subtle signs to watch for that might indicate a problem in a pet’s mouth.

They constantly rub their muzzle on grass or plants outside.

They spit out a hard treat you gave them.

They chew out of the side of their mouth with their head turned to the side.

They refuse to eat their regular food.

Have you seen any of these signs before?As a matter of fact, Yes, our 12 year old Chihuahua mix, Mikki, had been rubbing her muzzle on grass for many months every time we took her out. She also had lumps on her back and rear leg for several years. We gave her one type of bio-algae concentrates with limited success. The lumps increased in size more slowly but never reduced in size. We recently added another whole food product to her food called PSP (polysaccharide peptide). We finally started to see a visible reduction in size of her two tumors, although it took almost eight months to reduce by 40%. One was the diameter of a silver dollar and the other a quarter but they still persisted. While both whole food products helped the body by improving cellular DNA communication and by balancing any glands and organs that needed it, this was not enough to totally eliminate the tumors.

So what did you do?On a recent visit to our holistic vet, she examined several chronically loose teeth. Small dogs are prone to bad teeth even though we try to brush Mikki’s teeth almost daily. The vet decided the teeth finally needed to come out and suggested x-raying her whole mouth while Mikki was under anesthesia anyway. Mikki ended up having 11 teeth removed, mostly loose teeth but the x-rays showed two abscessed molars as well. We learned that even a visual inspection by a vet may not be enough to identify bad teeth that need to be extracted. Abscesses are a hidden source of bacterial toxins being stored in tumors.

The vet’s x-rays identified 9 additional teeth that needed to be pulled?Yes, that is correct. We did not know our little dog had so many bad teeth, which were potential sites for hidden infections. We might have guessed if we had connected Mikki’s habit of rubbing her muzzle on grass every time she went outside.

How is Mikki doing today?After just one week of recovery, I noticed the tumor on Mikki's back was reduced by 75% from its original size now. We had never seen a reduction this fast. Remember, with both bio-algae concentrates and the PSP+ over an 8 month period, we only saw a 40% reduction. We hope to totally dissolve the tumors now that the hidden source from the teeth infections are gone. When the original source of the excess wastes and toxins is removed, the body had no more need to encapsulate the toxins under the skin. Even though the whole food products were helping the body deal with the lumps and bumps, it was getting rid of the source that ultimately produced the largest decrease in size in only one week. This is a perfect example of how getting rid of the source of illness rather than supplementing the symptoms is the most holistic method and best for long term wellness.

What about traditional Western medical treatment for lipomas and fatty tumors?Conventional medical wisdom says if the tumor is not growing rapidly, not hindering any bodily function and otherwise benign, then leave it alone. But like I said at the beginning of the show, that is like taking the batteries out of the smoke alarm to stop the annoying sound and then ignoring the red flag your body is waving. These warning signs are trying to tell us we may have something more serious develop in the future. I think each one of us has to decide if we are the type of person who waits for symptoms to show up or blow up before taking action in both our own lives and our pet’s.

What type of person are you?Let me share a very personal example that fits right in with today’s show. I have had a lipoma or fatty tumor for over 40 years. I tried using essential oils, herbal cleanses, homeopathic remedies and our bio-algae concentrates product with limited success, just like our dog Mikki. It grew to the size and shape of half a grapefruit before I decided to get serious about it. My doctor and I finally decided to surgically remove it since I was in perfect health at age 56 and the tumor was still growing larger. Six months later the fatty tumor came back.

So, none of your other holistic remedies worked?I had very little success.

Why was that?The answer is the same as with our dog, Mikki. It was not until I had osteonecrosis surgery to clean out four previous tooth extraction sites and had three root canal teeth extracted and the jaw bone sockets cleaned out, that I finally saw an actual reduction in the second lipoma.

So, like your dog, you had a hidden infection in your teeth that was causing toxins to be stored in the tumor?That is exactly right. If vitamins, supplements, herbs, detoxing cleanses and homeopathic remedies have not resolved those lumps and bumps in yourself or your pet, then we suggest you look for the hidden source of the infection or imbalance in the body. Quite often the infection or the source of the imbalance can be so hidden, you will have to go back into your (or your pet’s) past to remember when you had a root canal, tooth extraction, exposure to a chemical, childhood illness or past sickness after which your body has never been the same. One cannot just rely on a pill, herb, salve, liposuction or surgery to eliminate lumps, bumps and tumors. There could be many sources for the body producing excess wastes and toxins.

Can you tell our listeners what some of those sources are?Here is a short list for both people and pets:

You seem to have wealth of pet knowledge. How can we access more of your 58 years of holistic wisdom?One way is to go to our website, www.optimumchoices.com and sign up for our free monthly e-newsletters. We have written articles on such topics as, Is glucosamine the answer for arthritis? Healthy water for you and your pets and Whole Food Products vs. Supplements. All past articles are archived online and one can search for a specific topic. If your listeners will check the box at the bottom of the subscription form, we’ll send subscribers a free report entitled What Pet Food Companies Don’t Want You to Know. This report contains 11-points some of which we covered today.

Do you offer any consulting services if I want more personal attention?Yes, we have Mini- and Extended-Consults for those who purchase one of our holistic products and want to get the maximum usage for their pet. We also offer full Holistic Consultations in 15-30-60 minute blocks.

What other holistic resources do you have that would be of interest my listeners?We have written a series of Holistic Choices e-Books. Readers can take advantage of the latest holistic research we find and absorb the information in a small chunk rather than a 100+ page book. The first three titles that have been published are:

Save Your Dog or Cat

Secrets of Longevity (for people )

How to become a canine massage provider

How can my listeners I and get a copy?Go to our website www.OptimumChoices.com and click on the e-Books button in the left column on our home page. As a special offer, I will give your listeners a free e-Book with any purchase of one of our bio-algae concentrate products. Just have them enter in the Special Instructions box of our shopping cart, “Wendy sent me” and ask for their free Save Your Dog or Cat e-Book or mention it in their telephone order.

Thank you for sharing your holistic wisdom with my listeners today. For more information on Optimum Choices and holistic options for your pet, go to Russell’s website at www.OptimumChoices.com. You can e-mail them at info@OptimumChoices.comor call toll-free 866-305-2306.